


The Curious Case of Kozume Kenma

by minijhi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, everyone is really really weird, kenma is a missing cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2014-08-03
Packaged: 2018-02-11 14:16:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2071434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minijhi/pseuds/minijhi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Solitary private investigator Kageyama Tobio is called in to investigate the Nekoma case, of one missing Kozume Kenma.   He travels to Tokyo and Miyagi, interviewing the volleyball players of the two schools closest to Kenma, and the more people he talks to, the stranger everything gets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Curious Case of Kozume Kenma

**Author's Note:**

> This story jumped on me. Literally. Yes.

The phone rings while Kageyama Tobio is on a date.

It is his workplace number, an annoying, beeping, chiming, snarling noise that his boss Oikawa mandated everyone use for the work phones.  It startles the young woman sitting opposite him, and Kageyama, for the first time in his life, is relieved to be distracted by the racket.

Kageyama doesn’t need to answer it, no, strictly speaking he’s not obligated to answer any phone calls outside of work hours, and he doesn’t even answer calls when he’s working, half the time.  But this time he snaps the phone open after a quick, “Sorry, I need to take this call.”  The young woman across from him nods and prods at her spaghetti with a fork.

Kageyama slips outside.

“What?”  he demands rudely.

“I’ve got an interesting case for you.” Oikawa Tooru drawls on the other end.  “You’ve been bored, haven’t you?”

“What is it?”  Kageyama asks.  When they’d signed up to be detectives with the police force, Kageyama had expected to be handed actual cases, but so far, a year into his job, Kageyama’s most exciting case had involved a stolen bonsai tree.  In actuality:  the gardener had simply moved the plant to the back of the house.  Needless to say, it had not been very exciting.

The sound of papers rustle on the other end of the phone.  Kageyama imagines Oikawa sprawled out at his workdesk overtime, and tries not to wish he could be okay with marrying his work too.  Kageyama’s parents have often expressed their hope that Kageyama did not end up dying alone with a pile of paperwork the only constant in his life. Kageyama doesn’t want that for himself either—hence the date, but God is Oikawa making things hard by interrupting his date with the prospect of a case.

 “Missing cat.”  Oikawa replies.

“Missing—what?”  Kageyama tries doesn't bother hiding the fact that he wants to throttle his boss.

“Look, you can take the case and travel to Tokyo for an all-expenses paid weeklong trip, or you can stay here and make up your own excuse as to why there isn’t going to be a second date.” Oikawa says.

“What—”  Kageyama begins, his skin crawling as he looks around to see if Oikawa is hiding in a bush in the vicinity.  Instead, a sleek silver car pulls over and Iwaizumi Hajime rolls down the window to look at Kageyama.

“We’ll brief you in the office.  Come over whenever you’re done.”  Iwaizumi says.

“I’m pretty sure stalking is a criminal offence.” Kageyama scowls at Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi chuckles.  “Bring it up with the police, then.”

Oikawa leans over to wink at Kageyama from the passenger seat.

“Have fun with your date.”  He calls, and the car zooms off into the night, leaving Oikawa’s laughter trailing in the air.

 

-

 

Because Oikawa has the world wrapped around his finger and does whatever the hell he wants, Kageyama finds himself at the police department at a quarter to midnight, waiting to be briefed on this missing cat case.

Momentarily, Oikawa breezes into the room and drops a blue case file in front of Kageyama.  There’s nothing in it, except two post-its, the first reading ‘Missing Cat:  Kozume Kenma. Reported by :  Kuroo Tetsurou’  and the second  ‘Nekoma High School Volleyball Club— Tokyo.’

“That’s all the info we have, _Detective-Tobio-chan_.”  Oikawa says, fluffing up the name like he does whenever he feels like riling Kageyama up.  Kageyama doesn’t rise to the bait.

“Kuroo Tetsurou called to report the missing cat earlier this evening.  At the moment, we don’t suspect foul play, but Kuroo Tetsurou was adamant that we find Kozume as soon as possible.  The Tokyo team has other cases to focus on for the moment, so the case was passed on to us.” Oikawa continues, seeming to find nothing wrong about the fact that they, a professional team of detectives, have been delegated the task of finding a high school boy’s missing cat.

“Who the hell names their cat Kozume Kenma?” Kageyama asks, flicking a finger at the post-it in impatience.  “Kozume isn’t even the family name.”

“It’s the neighbour’s kitten, apparently.” Iwaizumi says, appearing at the doorway.  He’s holding several loose leaves of paper and closes the door behind him with his foot.

Kageyama sits upright just as the Iwaizumi’s watch beeps midnight.  “Wait, you’re sending me to Tokyo to look for a kitten that hasn’t even been reported missing by its owners?”

“Sounds about right.”  Iwaizumi says, handing Kageyama the papers, which turn out to be hotel reservations and a train ticket.  He drops the practically empty case file into Kageyama’s arms as well. “Go get some rest, Kageyama. You’re going on your first solo mission tomorrow.”

Kageyama wants to say he spends that night tossing and turning in bed, thrilled by the prospect of a mind-boggling investigation, but instead he falls right asleep.  He simply cannot bring himself to be worked up over a missing cat.

 

-

 

Kageyama finds himself walking up to Nekoma High School the next morning, holding a notebook and an empty case file. It is a Saturday, so the school is mostly empty, but the team Kageyama is looking for is supposed to be having practice today.

He spots the gym easily, situated near the back of the school, and steps inside, rapping his knuckles on the open door in warning.  A short boy with light-brown hair comes jogging up to him with a wary smile.

“Hi.  Can I help you?”

“Hi.”  Kageyama says, flashing his badge at the volleyball player.  “I’m here because of a missing cat report? Kozume Kenma?”

“Missing… cat?”  The boy repeats uncertainly.  “Kenma?”

“He belongs to a Kuroo Tetsurou?”  Kageyama ventures, before remembering that Kozume is the neighbour’s cat.

The name Kuroo Tetsurou seems to do the trick, however. The boy nods, motioning for Kageyama to wait.  “I’ll go get Kuroo. Oh, I’m Yaku.” He adds, and jogs back in the direction he’d came.

Kageyama waits at the side of the gym, watching a bunch of first-years (first-years, because they are scrawny and not very good) engage in a match.  Kozume Kenma apparently had been a mascot of sorts for the Nekoma volleyball team, something about brain and heart—  Kageyama’s not sure, he was never very good at science in high school.

“What are you here for?”  A voice asks from above Kageyama, making him jump. He looks up to see a freakishly tall boy looming above him.  “I’m Haiba Lev.  I’m Nekoma’s ace. Are you recruiting? I’m only a first-year though.”

Kageyama raises his eyebrows and shakes his head. He wishes the boy would sit down. It is a little unnerving to be talking to someone so tall.  “Did you know Kozume Kenma?  I’m a detective.  I’m here to help find your missing cat.”

“Oh, of course!  He was a great cat.  Are you sure he’s dead?  Cats have nine lives, you know.”  Haiba Lev says unhelpfully.

Kageyama wonders if he should list Haiba Lev down as a suspect for having killed Kozume Kenma in his mind without any prompting. He files the name away in his head and frowns at the tall boy.

“No, they don’t, not really.”

“So Kenma’s really dead, then?”  Haiba asks, eyes wide.  He tugs at the person walking by, a boy with short-cropped dark hair and a patch of blond at the top of his head.  Kageyama tries to understand the hairstyle and fails. Haiba proceeds to relay the news of Kozume Kenma’s supposed death to this new boy.

“Kenma’s dead?”  the boy gasps, aghast.  “Kuroo is going to be miserable!  Are you sure?  He should have nine lives, shouldn’t he?”

Kageyama feels an impending headache, and he’s only just started on this case.  “I never said Kozume Kenma was dead.”

Haiba gives a dramatic sigh.  “I’ll miss him.  He was a good senpai.”

“Senpai?”  Kageyama whips out his notebook and pen.

The boy with the perplexing hairstyle whacks Haiba on the arm.  “Don’t call him senpai. He wouldn’t have liked that. I’ll miss him skipping practice and playing video games out by the water fountain.”  He says, sounding awfully sentimental for what he just described.

Kageyama blinks.  “Skipping practice?  Senpai?  This is Kuroo Tetsurou’s kitten we’re talking about, right?”  Kozume Kenma?”  He flips through the file, hoping that more information has sprouted since he last checked it, half an hour ago, but no such luck. All that’s in there are the two post-its in Oikawa’s perfect, cursive handwriting, telling him nothing at all.

“I don’t think it’s fair to say he’s Kuroo’s, exactly. Kenma belongs to the team, he belongs to all of us!”  the unnamed boy protests.

“But he does sit in Kuroo’s lap and play video games all the time.  He belongs to Kuroo more than any of us.”  Haiba argues.

“That’s only cause they’re dating!” Someone throws in happily, sticking his head as well as the rest of himself into the conversation. “Inuoka Sou.”  The new boy says by way of introduction to Kageyama, and repeats, “Kenma and buchou are dating, aren’t they?”

All three of them splutter, staring at the newcomer in disbelief.

“No way!”  Haiba squeals, then drops his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Are they, are they really? Is that why?”

Kageyama feels like a fish out of water. “Wait, stop, I don’t understand—”

But the boys have gone on to turn Kageyama’s interrogation into a full-on gossip session.  They discuss the details of this possible relationship between their team captain and mascot kitten with gusto, and Inuoka waves his hands everywhere as he speaks, occasionally smacking one of the other boys in the face.  The conversation does not lose momentum from it.

Kageyama wonders if one of them might have kidnapped the kitten out of jealousy, the blond hair-patch boy seems particularly obsessed with who Kozume Kenma strictly belonged to.  If Kuroo Tetsurou had been dating the kitten (Kageyama tries not to choke at the sheer thought of it), he can imagine quite a fuss about the whole affair.

Kageyama doesn’t even want to know how a relationship like that would work.

Before he can keel over from confusion, Yaku returns, batting the boys away.  “Go back to practice!  Just because Kuroo and Kenma aren’t here, doesn’t mean you get to slack off.”

It takes them take five minutes to finally move away, still murmuring about the licentious relationship in undertones. Eventually, Haiba Lev steals a ball from a first-year and forces his way right into the game with a battlecry. On the other end of the court, Inuoka and Yamamoto do the same.  Inuoka makes a noise quite like a hovercraft taking off.  The first-years scatter.

“Sorry.  They get carried away sometimes.”  Yaku apologizes.  “Also, Kuroo’s too distraught to talk to anyone right now.  Perhaps I can answer your questions, detective?”

Kageyama flips open his notebook again, pen poised to write.  “Tell me everything you know about the missing cat.”

There is a pause as Yaku just stares at him.  Then-

“Cat?”  Yaku says in astonishment.  “I know he acts like a kitten and we’re not called Nekoma for nothing, but I can assure you, Detective Kageyama, that Kenma is very much a human boy.”

“What?”  Kageyama says.  He looks down at his file and tears the most useless post-it Oikawa has ever written into half.

 

-

 

Once Kageyama is done cursing Oikawa, he sits down outside of the gym with Yaku, going through the real facts about Kozume Kenma.

However, without Kuroo Tetsurou’s input, they both find themselves at a loss of where to further proceed regarding the mysterious disappearance.

“He has a good friend in Miyagi, Hinata Shouyou, who plays for the Karasuno volleyball team.  If you have the time, why don’t you go talk to them?” Yaku suggests.

 

-

 

Having no further leads in Tokyo for the moment, Kageyama takes the next train out to Miyagi.  Following Yaku’s directions, he finds Karasuno High School, and steps into the school compound, trespassing like he had with Nekoma.

Kageyama has taken no more than two steps towards the building he believes to be the gym when he’s greeted by a boy lying on the ground, arms and legs splayed out around the crate he is half hanging from.

“Oh hello.”  the kid says.  He’s wearing a volleyball jersey and most of his orange hair is blending in with the grass.  He is upside down, and seems to have no immediate interest in righting himself again. “Can I help you?”

“What are you doing?”  Kageyama asks in bewilderment.

“I’m trying to grow taller.”  The boy explains patiently.  He stretches his arms a little bit more, and Kageyama's sure the crate is going to fall over, judging by the poor distribution of weight.  “Tsukishima said that his parents used to hang him upside down and stretch him on long objects, like from his head to his toes.  That’s why he’s so tall.”

“I see.”  Kageyama says, although all he sees are two boys standing at the entrance of the gym, laughing to one another as they watch the orange-haired boy.

“Can I help you?”  the boy repeats.  “I’m Hinata Shouyou, by the way.”

The name hits Kageyama as the boy from Karasuno whom Yaku said was best friends with Kenma.  He makes a note to come back to Hinata as soon as possible, but first he needs to make his presence known to someone in charge.

“I’m Detective Kageyama.  I want to talk to the Karasuno volleyball team about a case.  Is your captain here?” Kageyama asks. He’s still having trouble talking to Hinata, seeing as the boy has started wiggling from side to side, rocking the crate.  Kageyama has never seen anyone grow taller using a method like that, and he doesn't think it’s going to happen this time either.

“Ah.”  Hinata says, after he takes in Kageyama’s words.  Like a spring uncoiling, he shoots up so fast that Kageyama jumps back in surprise. 

“Mama!  Papa!”  Hinata shouts.

 

-

 

The captain and vice-captain of the Karasuno team are engaged in a deep discussion when Kageyama finds them, their foreheads almost touching. Kageyama clears his throat, and Hinata calls, “Mom, Dad.”

They tear apart instantly, falling back a couple of steps, faces looking at Hinata guiltily like parents who have just been caught making out by their kid.

Hinata is unperturbed.  “There’s a detective here who wants to talk to you.” He declares, and pulls Kageyama forward with a surprising strength, considering his stature.

“Hi.  I’m Detective Kageyama.”  Kageyama repeats for the umpteenth time, holding out his badge. Hinata ‘ooh’s and ‘aah’s at it. “I’m here to question your team about the disappearance of Kozume Kenma.”

Hinata gasps loudly, clinging to Kageyama’s arm. “Kenma’s missing? Like, dead?”

“No, no, I’m sure he’s okay.”  The silver-haired boy is quick to reassure Hinata. “Why don’t you go back to practice with Noya?”

Hinata pouts, a full-blown pout that can launch an army of ships, but before the silver-boy hair can cave, the darker-haired male steers Hinata away and leaves him with two boys.

“I’m Sawamura Daichi.”  The boy says, when he gets back.  “Captain of Karasuno.  This is my vice captain, Sugawara Koushi.”  The two smile at each other, as if delighted anew by the codependency of their respective positions on the team.

“Thank you for you time.”  Kageyama says.  “Did you both know Kozume Kenma from the Nekoma volleyball club?”

Sawamura nods.  “We’ve played Nekoma several times, they…”

But before Kageyama can find out what Sawamura has to say about Nekoma, the captain trails off, looking at something over Kageyama’s shoulder.  He turns too, just in time to see a first-year pitch right into a volleyball net that some other first-years are trying to assemble.  It looks more like they’re trying to fish than anything else. Kageyama winces in sympathy.

“Err.”  Sawamura says, completely forgetting what he was talking about.

“I’ll go help the first-years with the net.” Sugawara says after a beat. “Be right back.”

The space next to Sawamura Daichi looks strangely empty without his vice-captain.  Incomplete.

“Do you want to go get your boyfriend first?” Kageyama offers, as Sugawara raises the net and the first year gets even further tangled into the mess.

The team captain flushes an intense shade of red. “B-boyfriend?  Who?  Suga? No, we’re not— he’s not my—” There is a yelp and Sugawara is suddenly entangled in the net as well, a row of helpless-looking first-years tugging in all the wrong places, providing more hindrance than help to the entire situation.

“Uhh, I’ll be right back.”  Sawamura Daichi says quickly, and then he has disappeared after his boyfriend.

(Kageyama doesn’t take Sawamura’s word for it that they’re not together).

(Lies are the first step to criminal offences such as kidnapping and murder, Kageyama thinks.)

 

-

 

After the whole net fiasco has been sorted out, Sawamura Daichi and his vice-captain talk to Kageyama briefly about what they know of Kozume Kenma.  Their info is limited, and as far as Kageyama can tell, despite their insistence on lying about their relationship, it seems like they were telling the truth about everything else.  Thus, it isn’t very likely that they had anything to do with Kozume’s disappearance.

Sawamura tells Kageyama that he’s welcome to talk to any of the other regulars, and like Yaku, repeats that Hinata Shouyou and Kozume Kenma are close friends.

First on the list after talking to the captains are two boys named Nishinoya and Tanaka, who look like they split Yamamoto from Nekoma’s hairstyle into two separate styles.  One of them has a golden tuft of hair at the centre of his forehead, and the other sports the standard military crop.  Kageyama finds them shouting, spiking and tossing at each other, tumbling all over the court with enthusiasm.  Kageyama takes a moment to admire the libero’s flexibility and quick thinking before interrupting the game.

“Kenma?  The city boy?”  Tanaka asks. “He’s missing?”

Nishinoya looks a little bit concerned, but more preoccupied by the tall boy at the end of the court who is cornering a smaller boy, and waving his hands threateningly.

“Who is that?”  Kageyama asks, ready to write down the name in capital letters, under 'highly suspicious'.

“Azumane Asahi.”  Nishinoya says.  “That idiot.”

Nishinoya kicks the volleyball up into his hand and serves, hitting the tall boy right in the back of his head.

“What kind of relationship did he have with Kozume Kenma?”  Kageyama asks.

Nishinoya snorts.

“You can talk to Asahi, but he doesn’t know anything about the cat boy.”  Nishinoya says. He raises a hand, waving the tall, dangerous-looking boy over.  Kageyama’s eyes immediately narrow.  Of all the people he’s met today, the person currently approaching looks like the most likely culprit.  “Yo, Asahi!”  Nishinoya shouts.

The gangster boy stops in front of them, bowing politely to Kageyama.  “Y-yes?”

“What were you doing terrifying that kid for?”  Nishinoya demands.  “If you don’t get your act together and stop scaring everyone, you can’t be Karasuno’s ace!” 

“There’s hope for Kenma yet.”  Tanaka says to no one in particular. “He’s from Nekoma, after all, and cats have nine—” 

Before he can finish his sentence, Nishinoya gets into a fight with Asahi and Kageyama has to make a hasty retreat.

Kageyama can’t say he’s particularly disappointed.

 

-

 

“Hey.”  Hinata Shouyou says, joining Kageyama on a bench under a shady tree when Karasuno lets out for break.  He folds his legs under his body and looks over at the detective.  “Any luck with Kenma yet?”

Kageyama shakes his head.  “Is this a normal occurrence?  No one but Kuroo Tetsurou seems very worried.”

Hinata considers, watching a couple of leaves fall to the ground.  “I guess so. When I first met Kenma, Kuroo had lost him too.  But—” he quickly adds, “If Kuroo had called the police, it’s probably serious.”

They sit side by side and watch Nishinoya dart out of the gymnasium, Tanaka close behind him.  Sawamura Daichi stands at the entrance shouting at them.

“Are you ever coming back to Miyagi?” Hinata asks.  “There’s a football field near my house, I lost my goldfish there last year.  After you find Kenma, do you think you can help me find my goldfish?”

A good thirty seconds pass before Kageyama realizes, with some horror, that Hinata is actually serious.

“I’m pretty sure that goldfish is dead.” Kageyama says flatly, and dismisses the new case in favour of his old one.

The notebook still gives away nothing. Missing boy:  did not sleep in bed.  Has not contacted team.  Will not pick up phone calls.  No known enemies.  Does not seem to have run away from home (has no self-preservation skills).

If all these facts are true, then Kozume Kenma is likely to have been a victim of opportunity.  The thought makes Kageyama shiver, though neither option is a comfort.

Hinata Shouyou interrupts these morbid, depressing thoughts by sticking his face right in front of Kageyama’s.  “Do you play?”  he asks.

“Play what?”

“Volleyball.”

Kageyama shrugs.  “I used to, back in middle and high school.  We weren’t very good though.”

“I knew it!”  Hinata chirps happily.  “You were watching the game with this look in your eyes, it was super intense—like _fwuorrr_ — anyway, there’s this move that I wanna try, but nobody wants to do it with me.  It’s so annoying.  Well, Noya has tried, but it just doesn’t feel right. Do you want to practice it with me?”

Those puppy dog eyes have slain many a stronger man than Kageyama.

“I’m not here to play volleyball with you, Hinata.” Kageyama says.

Hinata sighs, raising his arms to the sky. “I want to play volleyball. I want to be strong.”

Kageyama decides he cannot fix that problem. Ignoring Hinata, he checks his phone for the time and makes up his mind to start heading to the station.  Kuroo Tetsurou has finally agreed to meet him when he gets back to Tokyo.

“Are you leaving already?”  Hinata asks in alarm.

“Yeah, I have to go solve this case with your friend.” 

Hinata leaps off the bench, hopping and twirling beside Kageyama as he walks.

“Here here, have my number.”  Hinata says suddenly, snatching Kageyama’s phone out of his hand and unlocking it with ease.

Kageyama stares, glowering, as Hinata keys in his phone number, adds several hearts behind the name and saves it into his phone book.  And then to make matters worse, Hinata proceeds to use Kageyama’s phone to give himself a missed call.

“Call me sometime.”  Hinata says brightly.  “I wanna play volleyball with you.”

 

-

 

By the time Kageyama returns to Tokyo, it is dark. He takes a cab to Kuroo Tetsurou’s house and finds the captain standing in wait, his dark hair flopping over one side of his head, clearly too heartbroken to be concerned about personal grooming matters for the moment.

“He’s been kidnapped or killed, hasn’t he?” Kuroo asks.  They sit on the doorstep of the house, while indoors his parents watch a singing competition on tv with the volume turned way up.

“Tell me again how you found Kozume missing.” Kageyama says instead, in a voice he hopes is soothing.

Kuroo’s forehead wrinkles, and he looks more disturbed than ever.

“I went into his room yesterday afternoon, wanting to practice some volleyball with him.  But he wasn’t there, and his bed had been stripped of blankets and pillows.”  Kuroo explains. “His parents had no idea where he had gone, so I waited.  I waited for hours.”

In a low voice, as if saying it louder would make it more true, Kuroo says, “But he never came home.  I think he’s been kidnapped.”

Kageyama frowns.  There’s something very odd with that picture.  He can’t imagine Kozume Kenma is wandering around the streets of Tokyo draped in a blanket and some pillows.

But Kageyama’s at a dead end.

“The only thing we can do is wait for the kidnappers to call us.”  Kageyama says, and at that very moment, Kuroo’s phone rings. 

“It’s Kenma’s number.”  Kuroo gasps, and the singing competition in the background rises to a high-pitched aria.  The boy nearly drops his phone and juggles it nervously in his hands. “What do I do?”

Kageyama takes the phone, trying to mask his trepidation and answers the call.  “Hello?”

“Can you bring over my charger?”  a voice says.

“What?”  Kageyama says.

“My charger.  I left it at your house yesterday.”  The voice repeats.  There is a pause.  Kageyama is so confused he forgets to breathe.  “Wait, you’re not Kuroo.”

“Who the hell are you?”  Kageyama asks.

“Kenma, is that you?”  Kuroo asks in excitement.

“Kozume Kenma, where exactly are you?” Kageyama demands.

“Huh?”  Kenma says.

 

-

 

“Doesn’t Tokyo have a twenty-four hours before you can report someone missing policy?”  Kageyama growls as he follows Kuroo across the street to Kozume Kenma’s house.  He’d completely forgotten about that rule, and hates himself for it.  It could have saved him the entire case.

In twenty-four hours, Kenma’s game console had finally run out of battery, prompting him to emerge from under his bed—where he had been the whole time—to make the phone call to Kuroo.

“I guess I got a little carried away. I should have figured Kenma was hiding from me.  He doesn’t like playing volleyball when he has a new game.  Sorry for the trouble.”  Kuroo says sheepishly, and digs under the front door carpet for an extra key, unlocks the door, and motions for Kageyama to enter.

Kageyama is not feeling very forgiving. He stomps upstairs behind Kuroo and they burst into a dark bedroom, moonlight streaming through the windows. The bed is still empty, but quiet beeping sounds come from under it.

Kuroo gets down on his knees, peers under the bed and lets out a delighted squeal.  Within seconds, he disappears beneath the bed, shouting a joyful, “Kenma!” and muffled oofs and thumps ensue.

There is an unhappy “What are you doing?” and a voice that can only be Kozume Kenma’s asks, “Did you bring my charger?”

Kuroo lets out a quiet admission of ‘no’ and he promptly comes tumbling back out from under the bed.  It looks like he’d been kicked out, but the captain stands, looking positively elated.  “I’ll go get it.  Make sure he doesn’t disappear again.”  He tells Kageyama, even though it’s now clear that Kozume Kenma had never been missing in the first place.

After Kuroo leaves, a blond head pokes out from under the bed.  Kozume Kenma stares at him with wide eyes, and then burrows quickly back into his makeshift pillow fort.

Exhausted, Kageyama sits on the floor beside the bed, and he can see how comfortably Kozume is tucked in his hiding place. Cat eyes glance at Kageyama then go back to the game, but a small hand pushes a pillow out of the den in an offering.

Kageyama takes it, sinks his face into the pillow and thinks about his first solo case.

“I’m quitting my job.”  He tells Kozume Kenma, defeated.

“Okay.”  The boy says, not sounding very concerned.  “Maybe you should try playing volleyball with Shouyou.”

 

-

 

Later that night, Kageyama looks up Hinata’s name in his phonebook, just as the boy saved it.

“I found your friend Kenma.”  He types.  “I’ll be in Tokyo for the rest of the week with nothing to do.”

There is a reply in mere seconds.

 

From:  Hinata S. <3 <3

HWUORRRRRRRR!!!!!  I’LL SEE IF I CAN COME OVER TOMORROW THEN!

 

Kageyama blinks, and then smiles, just a little.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
